Nominees for 2008 XBLA Awards announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on February 27, 2009

News: Braid leads the way with five nominations.

Microsoft has announced the nominees for the second annual Xbox Live Arcade Awards. Braid leads the way with nominations in five categories while Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2, Super Street Fighter II HD Remix and Portal: Still Alive came close with four nominations apiece.

The voting for this year's awards will begin on Tuesday, March 3 and will run for one week. Voting will also take place through a special Xbox Live application, which Microsoft has instructions for at Xbox.com.

The full list of nominees can be found below:

Best Overall Arcade Game

Braid

Castle Crashers

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Portal: Still Alive

Best Original Game

Castle Crashers

N+

Braid

Penny Arcade Episode 1

Schizoid

Age of Booty

Best Family Game

Boogie Bunnies

Roogoo

A Kingdom for Keflings

Lost Cities

Meteos Wars

Best Co-Operative Multiplayer Game

Castle Crashers

Schizoid

Bionic Commando Rearmed

N+

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Best Competitive Multiplayer Game

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Soul Calibur

Meteos Wars

Age of Booty

Best Solo Game

Braid

Mega Man 9

Penny Arcade Episode 1

Rez HD

Portal: Still Alive

Best Innovation in XBLA

Braid (time travel)

A Kingdom for Keflings (use of Avatars)

Fable II Pub Games (retail game integration)

N+ (level sharing)

Duke Nukem 3D (dynamic replay)

Best Graphics

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Braid

Castle Crashers

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Best Classic/Remake Game

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Mega Man 9

Galaga Legions

Rez HD